Prepress work involves a variety of tasks, most of which are now computer-based. In commercial printing plants, jobs tend to come from customers on CD or flash drive, or via e-mail or a file transfer protocol Web site.
The electronic file is reviewed by the preflight technician (also known as an electronic prepress technician) to ensure that all of its elements are properly formatted and set up. At small print shops—which account for the majority of the printing industry—a job printer is often the person in charge of proofing the file, fixing any problems that emerge, and taking the job to the printing stage.
Once a file is ready, the technician transmits it through an imagesetter onto paper, film, or directly to the printing plate. The latter method is called digital imaging, and it bypasses the film stage altogether. Direct-to-plate technology has been adopted by many printing companies nationwide. When direct-to-plate technology is used, the prepress technician creates an electronic image of the printed pages. The image is then converted into a proof that is e-mailed or mailed to the customer for review, corrections, and eventual approval for printing. Once the job is approved, prepress workers use laser technology to transfer the images directly to the metal plates or directly to a digital press that will be used to print the job.
- 3-D Printing Specialists
- Apparel Industry Workers
- Art Directors
- Automotive Industry Workers
- Bindery Workers
- Bioenergy/Biofuels Workers
- Biofuels Processing Technicians
- Biofuels Production Managers
- Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers
- Biomass Plant Technicians
- Biomass Power Plant Managers
- Biotechnology Production Workers
- Boilermakers and Mechanics
- Book Conservators
- Book Editors
- Business Managers
- Cartoonists
- Ceramics Engineers
- Chemical Engineers
- Chemical Technicians
- Chemists
- Comic Book Writers
- Computer-Aided Design Drafters and Technicians
- Continuous Improvement Managers
- Copy Editors
- Copywriters
- Coremakers
- Corporate Climate Strategists
- Cost Estimators
- Customer Service Representatives
- Desktop Publishing Specialists
- Diet and Fitness Writers
- Drafters
- Drone Manufacturing Workers
- Editorial and Research Assistants
- Editors
- Electronics Engineering Technicians
- Electroplating Workers
- Engineering Technicians
- Engineers
- Fashion Writers and Editors
- Food Photographers
- Food Writers and Editors
- Forge Shop Workers
- Furniture Designers
- Furniture Manufacturing Workers
- Futurists
- Glass Manufacturing Workers
- Graphic Designers
- Green Products Manufacturers
- Illustrators
- Indexers
- Industrial Chemicals Workers
- Industrial Designers
- Industrial Ecologists
- Industrial Engineering Technicians
- Industrial Engineers
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics
- Industrial Radiographers
- Industrial Safety and Health Technicians
- Industrial Traffic Managers
- Instrumentation Technicians
- Intellectual Property Lawyers
- Interpreters
- Job and Die Setters
- Laboratory Testing Technicians
- Laser Technicians
- Layout Workers
- Leather Tanning and Finishing Workers
- Lexicographers
- Literary Agents
- Logging Industry Workers
- Logistics Analysts
- Logistics Engineers
- Manufacturing Engineering Technologists
- Manufacturing Engineers
- Manufacturing Production Technicians
- Manufacturing Supervisors
- Materials Engineers
- Mechanical Engineering Technicians
- Mechanical Engineers
- Metallurgical Engineers
- Metallurgical Technicians
- Microelectronics Technicians
- Millwrights
- Molders
- Non-Destructive Testing Specialists
- Numerical Control Tool Programmers
- Occupational Safety and Health Workers
- Optical Engineers
- Optics Technicians
- Packaging Engineers
- Packaging Machinery Technicians
- Paper Processing Workers
- Pharmaceutical Industry Workers
- Photo Editors
- Photographers
- Photographic Equipment Technicians
- Photographic Laboratory Workers
- Plastics Products Manufacturing Workers
- Precision Machinists
- Precision Metalworkers
- Printing Press Operators and Assistants
- Product Development Directors
- Product Management Directors
- Product Managers
- Quality Control Engineers and Technicians
- Real Estate Writers
- Remote Health Care Engineers
- Robotics Engineers and Technicians
- Rubber Goods Production Workers
- Sales Managers
- Sales Representatives
- Science and Medical Writers
- Semiconductor Technicians
- Sheet Metal Workers
- Silverware Artisans and Workers
- Sporting Goods Production Workers
- Sportswriters
- Steel Industry Workers
- Supply Chain Managers
- Technical Writers and Editors
- Textile Manufacturing Workers
- Tobacco Products Industry Workers
- Toy Industry Workers
- Traffic Managers
- Translators
- Typists and Word Processors
- Welders and Welding Technicians
- Wood Science and Technology Workers
- Writers